Thai Premier Seeks to Bridge Social Gap

By

James Hookway

Updated April 15, 2009 12:01 a.m. ET

BANGKOK -- The Thai army closed down the last of the antigovernment protests that paralyzed the capital over the past two days, tackling the toughest test yet for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva since he came to power four months ago.

Now Mr. Abhisit has another challenge: How to prevent a repeat of politically driven street riots that left two people dead, over 120 injured and much of the city looking like a battle zone.

Thai soldiers detain an antigovernment protester following a clash in downtown Bangkok on Monday. Associated Press

The prime minister is making plans to improve longer-term stability by allowing a greater voice for the "red shirt" protesters who tried to bring him down.

Mr. Abhisit was badly embarrassed when the army couldn't stop protesters from derailing a major regional economic summit he was hosting on Saturday, and appeared reluctant to enforce his declaration of a state of emergency Sunday -- prompting speculation about an impending coup.

But on Monday morning, the army began to force protesters from the streets. Protest leaders Tuesday called off the demonstrations and several surrendered to police. Authorities issued 14 arrest warrants, including one for former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who urged a mass uprising against the government in telephone calls and video messages sent from abroad, where he is trying to evade extradition and imprisonment on a corruption conviction. Celebrations marking Thailand's New Year water festival also resumed.

ENLARGE

A Buddhist monk leaves the site of a weeks-long antigovernment rally at the Thai prime minister's office in Bangkok Tuesday.
AFP

With calm returning to Bangkok, Mr. Abhisit, 44 years old, appears to be gaining confidence. People close to him say he plans to look into amendments to the constitution, which was drafted by a military-backed panel to weaken civilian politicians. The charter, drawn up after the 2006 coup that removed Mr. Thaksin from office, largely targeted the former premier, whom many of the protesters consider their leader.

"Mr. Abhisit is determined to push for a more balanced democratic system where everybody can be heard," says Panitan Wattanayagorn, Mr. Abhisit's government spokesman. "But he needs calm, and more cooperation and participation from civil society, parliament and the bureaucracy. It's a long process, but the Thai people have seen the destructiveness of an unbalanced system and are eager for change."

The biggest question ahead, political analysts say, is whether Mr. Abhisit's conservative backers in the armed forces and powerful government bureaucracy will allow any overhauls that could put power back into the hands of their opponents.

"I think there will be a promise of reforms, but Mr. Abhisit won't be able -- or won't be allowed -- to deliver anything concrete. He's too beholden to the military and the other people who put him in power," says political science professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak.

Mr. Abhisit became prime minister at the head of a military-backed coalition in December after a Thai court dissolved a pro-Thaksin government for vote-buying. The recent protests have been seen as Mr. Thaksin's attempt to rewrite the rules of the contest by reducing the influence of Thailand's courts and armed forces.

Mr. Abhisit's challenge is to find a way for Mr. Thaksin's populists and Thailand's old ruling elites to co-exist and compete for power in a political system where both sides agree to abide by the same rules.

Like other emerging economies such as China and India, Thailand has seen its cities and industrial zones prosper over the past 30 years while many of its rural areas, where the majority of Thais still live, have been left behind.

Uproar in Thailand

At first, this wasn't a problem. Thailand has traditionally been led by an entrenched military elite and a professional civil-service class that runs the government bureaucracy, with a powerful monarch attended by an elite class of advisers. If some were angry at this state of affairs, they seldom challenged it.

Then Mr. Thaksin, a telecommunications millionaire, introduced populist-style politics to Thailand. Suddenly, a politician was paying attention to poorer Thais. They elected him prime minister twice, in landslides each time. Mr. Thaksin, 59, is the only Thai premier to have been elected twice.

In his second term, Mr. Thaksin became increasingly dictatorial. By 2006, the armed forces and many middle-class and wealthy Thais had run out of patience. The military launched a coup in September while Mr. Thaksin was out of the country.

Since then, power has swung between the two sides. Mr. Thaksin's supporters won a free election in 2007, only to see their government hit by accusations of vote-buying and corruption.

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